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Age of Adepts c1-1513

Page 543

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼


  This web was the planar laws that enveloped and permeated everything and anything!

  However, these were only the usual circumstances.

  Under certain abnormal situations, the planar web of the planar worlds would also show signs of malfunction and irregular law fluctuations. These abnormalities could easily result in the unexpected deaths of millions of creatures in the world, causing damage and loss to the planar web.

  This portion of planar power that had wandered away from the web would form ‘origin substances’ when they combined with elements within the plane. These so-called ‘origin substances’ were, in truth, wondrous objects that contained the planar laws within them.

  If one were to obtain such an origin substance and use special methods to extract the planar law powers contained within, they would be able to use it to great effect when understanding the planar laws.

  If a high-grade adept didn’t want to fail to comprehend the planar laws before they died, searching for such origin substances was undoubtedly a workable path of action!

  Of course, such origin substances were rare and few within a plane.

  However, planar worlds that had been severely injured and damaged due to the invasion of other species was a different story. The damage to the planar origin and the destruction of the planar web would cause the chance of origin substances appearing to increase dramatically. Some more extreme adepts would even intentionally damage the planar stability of the plane they were invading to facilitate the birth of origin substances.

  The mass deaths and extinction of planar creatures during this process was none of the adepts’ concern.

  The reason the adepts were labeled as an evil faction perhaps had to do with this cruel and terrifying way of doing things!

  From what Greem understood in the Spirit Illusion Realm, anything that was labeled with ‘origin substance’ was a Fourth Grade adept resource. Adepts below Fourth Grade did not have the wealth nor power even to get involved with such items.

  Of course, their price matched their names. Each and every one of them was shockingly expensive.

  Though Greem had the assistance of the Chip and could shorten the time required to comprehend the laws of fire by a hundred times, it was still impossible to finish the process without a minimum of a thousand years.

  If he had the fortune to advance to Fourth Grade, he would probably have to walk upon the difficult path of searching everywhere for fire origin substances!

  Greem thought a bit about his future before adjusting his posture on the deck chair and letting the warm sun shine upon him. His entire body was filled with ease and relaxation.

  All the fighting and killing over the past few years had constantly kept his spirit in a tense state.

  This time, there were no urgent objectives he had to complete on this trip. Thus, Greem treated it as a sightseeing trip and let himself relax completely.

  Chapter 879 - Proceeding to Molten Fire City

  The Skettis Region.

  The City of Oss.

  Greem got off the ship at the closest public city to Molten Fire City– Oss, as was agreed in the contract.

  Neither the old adept nor the young adept couple could be seen on the ship; they had probably gotten off the ship during the trip while Greem was meditating!

  Greem’s massive Spirit swept across the flying ship and instantly picked up on everything happening within. In fact, even adepts who did not activate defensive forcefields could not escape his mental senses.

  Ordinary First Grade adepts did not feel his spiritual scan. Only some more spiritually sensitive Second Grade adepts could faintly detect something odd in the air. Still, even these people could not capture the source location of this Spirit.

  The adept in charge of the flying ship might have discovered something, but out of fear of the might of a Third Grade adept, he would not take any action as long as Greem didn’t cross the line.

  Greem slowly walked off the flying ship on the plank along with the rest of the crowd.

  A massive and prosperous adept city laid before his eyes.

  Zhentarim, at the center of the continent, was made up of thirty-one different regions.

  The smaller regions were approximately seven to eight hundred thousand square kilometers in size, while the larger ones could stretch for millions of square kilometers. Their land was vast and wide, their resources rich and plentiful, and their population made up for over sixty percent of the entirety of the Continent of Adepts.

  Under such circumstances, almost every region was a whole new world of its own.

  The local rulers might still be mortal humans, but their species, skin color, language, and culture were vastly different from the other regions. However, under the rule and management of the adepts, the language of the adepts, based in the Sendt language, had become the official language of the entire continent.

  Ordinary civilians naturally had no right nor energy to learn this unique language. Only the nobles could start learning the adept’s speech at a young age, cultivating their young into excellent talents in the adept civilization.

  Of course, if a child of an ordinary human family were found to possess adept talents, then this family would experience an overwhelming change.

  The local nobles would fight for the chance to sponsor this child’s study at an adept’s tower or academy. If the child were lucky enough to become an adept, any slight bit of reciprocation would be a brilliant opportunity for the local noble to rise to a higher power.

  It was the existence of these situations that made the local nobles willing to go to bloody war to take an apprentice with excellent talent under their wing.

  Some more influential nobles even put their children into adept academies while they were very young. If their child had a talent for magic, they could continue studying in the academy. If they didn’t have the ability, they would remain there and try to socialize with as many apprentices as possible to find a suitable target for investment.

  The superior group that was the adepts was tightly linked to the massive noble system in this manner, making for an interesting and unique ecosystem seen in every region.

  Greem had just gotten off the flying ship when a luxurious and extravagant silver carriage stopped before him.

  The person who got off the carriage was a Second Grade adept in a black robe. Pinned to the adept’s chest was a fancy insignia with a black base and red pattern.

  Judging from the design of the insignia, he came from Molten Fire City, the people who had invited him here.

  “You must be Lord Fire? Lord Karak has already given me orders. I have been waiting here for you for three days. If you have no other business, Lord Karak wishes that you can arrive at Molten Fire City as soon as possible.”

  Greem lifted his head and looked at the City of Oss in the distance. He could only regretfully say his farewells to this city in his heart.

  “I have nothing else to do. Let us set off now!”

  The two adepts boarded the silver carriage and rode out of the landing zone. They turned onto a gray road and quickly hurried northeast under the escort of a hundred strange cavalry.

  Greem quickly scanned these riders when he got on the carriage. The attributes of these soldiers promptly appeared before him after the fine spiritual scan.

  Lizard cavalry. A select group of armed forces at intermediate First Grade. They were composed of cave lizards and human knights.

  These lizard riders were clearly on the frailer side when it came to their physique. Though they were protected by an elegant set of chainmail on the outside, they were ill-suited to ferocious charges on the battlefield. However, there were flesh pads on the feet of the cave lizards they rode. These flesh pads could form tiny suction cups, not only allowing them to travel in absolute silence, but also allowing them to make it across most obstacles. In particular, they excelled at sprinting across narrow and rugged terrain.

  These lizard riders all carried custom-made tooth spears in
their hands. The handle of the spear was only a mere three feet long, while the blade itself was six feet. The edge was filled with plenty of barbs and spurs, while the tip of the blade had a foot-long blood groove. They gleamed with a cold, blue light.

  Be it the chainmail or the weapons; all this equipment was enchanted. They posed a decent threat, even to adepts.

  Moreover, judging from their standard-issue armor and weapons, Molten Fire City must command tremendous influence around the local area. Otherwise, there was no reason they could have sustained such large-scale biological modifications on the lizards.

  Meanwhile, the Second Grade adept responsible for receiving Greem showed no signs of fear or hesitation when meeting with a Third Grade adept like himself. Instead, he started talking and communicating very confidently.

  From his introduction, Greem learned more about this strange adept organization known as the Molten Fire City.

  The headquarters of Molten Fire City was located in a stretch of volcanoes in the northeast area of Skettis.

  Much like the Crimson Clan, they were a large organization that ruled over the entire Skettis Region.

  The lord of Molten Fire City was a Fourth Grade adept who had three deputies beneath him, all who were at Third Grade. Meanwhile, there were over two to three hundred contracted and hired adepts living in Molten Fire City.

  This organization known as Molten Fire City was larger than the Crimson Clan in terms of scale alone. Moreover, the Skettis Region they ruled was a vast region with a massive area and plenty of resources, even when compared to the entirety of Zhentarim.

  The Ailovis region that the Crimson Clan ruled was one of the small regions at the borders of Zhentarim. They could not possibly compare to the significantly developed Skettis Region in any aspect.

  Greem couldn’t help but let out an internal sigh when he recognized this fact.

  In all the adept wars of the past, the forces that had been devoured by the Crimson Clan were only small organizations. Even the Kamala Clan was barely at the level of a mid-tier organization.

  Defeating an opponent like this had made Greem gloat to himself for a bit. Now that he had ventured out of his own territory and compared his own power to other veteran forces, the juxtaposition caused Greem to develop a sense of danger.

  There was much more to be done with regards to the development of the Crimson Clan!

  …………

  Molten Fire City.

  After five days of continuous travel, Greem and the party finally arrived at the border of the volcanoes.

  It was hard for ordinary carriages to travel through here. The Second Grade adept invited Greem onto a cave lizard, and they dove into a natural underground cave that had been further expanded upon.

  Compared to the dark caves that Greem had been to in the past, it was clear that this place was highly developed.

  Though there were large and small caves all along the way, obtrusive stalactites and stalagmites had been destroyed and taken away. Still, the rugged and uneven terrain made it extremely difficult for an ordinary person to travel. Only local creatures like the cave lizards could freely move through such an area with their unique abilities.

  These cave lizards could even rapidly run across the ceiling and walls when they reached especially uneven areas. It was, perhaps, the main reason why Molten Fire City had tamed and modified cave lizards on such a large scale!

  Greem could feel the temperature of the environment rapidly rise after he entered the cave.

  In fact, he could even smell the suffocating scent of sulfur through the cracks and rifts all around them.

  As a fire adept, Greem felt no disgust toward such a harsh environment; only an instinctual excitement and joy.

  The Molten Fire City had modified the formerly dark underground area. Plenty of glowstones had been installed along the way, illuminating the cave with a dark red glow. There were nearly no subterranean creatures to be seen anywhere.

  That was understandable.

  As the main entrance and exit of Molten Fire City, it was only natural they would send adepts and apprentices to clear out the underground creatures regularly. As long as no underground creatures set up home nearby, there would be no large-scale activity around the area.

  After traveling through these winding and uneven tunnels for two days, Greem and the other adept finally arrived at Molten Fire City. Of course, the organization had also set up four or five small outposts along the way. Judging from the population, they were almost at the scale of ordinary human villages on the surface.

  Greem’s group had run into at least thirty or forty merchant groups along the way.

  Their wooden chests and packs were filled with local products of Molten Fire City, from animal hides to herbs, ores, and ingots.

  Unfortunately, there was no Queyras ore.

  Greem was not surprised by this at all.

  The value of Queyras ore was far, far beyond that of ordinary magical gemstones. If they were to be carted out for sale, Molten Fire City would never hire such a simple group to be responsible for it. Thus, the merchant groups he saw were only selling and purchasing inferior byproducts dug out from the mines.

  The truly valuable Eternium and Queyras ores must have been kept in the hands of Molten Fire City. This ‘trash’ that came attached with the ores then became the precious products that the nearby human organizations would fight over.

  It seemed Greem had to properly make contact with the leaders of Molten Fire City if he wanted to obtain Queyras alloy!

  Chapter 880 - Molten Fire City

  In all seriousness, Molten Fire City was just a massive underground city built in the belly of a volcano.

  Of course, the core building here was a powerful adept’s tower.

  However, unlike the rest, this adept’s tower was not built upon the volcanic rock, where the foundation would be stable. Instead, it was built within the flowing magma.

  There were only a few fixed points of time during the year when the tower would be revealed as the lava sea subsided. During the rest of the time, the tower would be hidden beneath the boiling and flowing magma sea, cut off from the rest of the world.

  Thus, this adept’s tower became the residence of the Fourth Grade city lord!

  The other adepts of Molten Fire City–the other deputies included–all resided in the underground tunnels around the tower. The uneven volcanoes, winding underground labyrinths, and many modified voodoo beasts filled this underground world with life. Activity and movement were everywhere.

  The entirety of Molten Fire City was split into three levels. The inner core area was the adept’s area.

  As the elementium concentration and activity here were shockingly high, ordinary humans could not survive in this environment for extended periods. Only adepts could live and move about in this area.

  Naturally, outside the core area was the apprentice area.

  With the isolation effect of the energy barrier, the energy radiation here was much less compared to the core. This was the place where most apprentices lived. Be it for study, research, or their daily activities, the central area of operation for the adept apprentices was the outer circle around the core area.

  Meanwhile, outside the apprentice area were the small settlements such as villages or supply points. These places were populated by ordinary people who provided service to the apprentices. These included hotels, inns, mercenary camps, underground black markets, and other specialized services. Of course, the maids of these hotels were often involved in more explicit and shadier business as well.

  However, these outposts were mostly filled with fearless miners who provided labor for Molten Fire City.

  It was important to note that the main reason the Fourth Grade adept had built a massive adept’s tower here was because of the impressive metal vein in the depths of this volcano. The quality of the magical metals stored here was exceedingly excellent. The number of reserves was also shocking. It turned the mines into the larg
est source of income for the Molten Fire City organization.

  Of course, such a colossal metal reserve required plenty of manual labor to excavate.

  Molten Fire City spent a massive capital to construct this large underground city, all to gain access to the enormous reserves of magical metals beneath their feet. Thousands of miners of various races toiled daily in these complex, winding tunnels, putting their lives on the line for the profit of Molten Fire City.

  The more Greem understood about this city, the more impressed he became.

  The size of the population, the scale of it, and the amount of trade alone were a hundred times larger than the Fire Throne of Crimson Clan.

  Though he envied the prosperity, Greem did not harbor the extravagant hopes of one day owning such a territory.

  Almost all the high-grade resources of the World of Adepts had been divided between the major organizations and high-grade adepts. Such high-grade resources would not bring him massive magical crystal income if they fell into his hands; it would only be perpetual war.

  Without the power to intimidate his enemies, the revelation of such resources would draw the covetous gazes of Fourth Grade adepts. Meanwhile, the Crimson Clan had no Fourth Grade adept of their own.

  If such resources were to fall into his hands, it would not be a fortune. It would be an affliction, so bad that it could bring about the extermination of the entire clan.

  The few waves of adept wars aimed at the Crimson Clan a while ago appeared to have been caused by disagreements between the clans. However, the source of these conflicts was, in truth, the Plane of Lance that the Crimson Clan held in their hands.

  It was a decent dragon plane with an inexhaustible source of dragon resources.

  Those were not resources that a newly established clan should possess!

  The wealth of the Crimson Clan invited the hunt of a pack of multiple small and intermediate clans.

  If it weren’t for the Crimson Clan having a fairly good foundation with several tricks up their sleeves, Greem’s newly established clan would have become food for the others. When that happened–having lost the power of his clan and left alone–Greem would have had no choice but to hand over the world coordinates of Lance and become labeled as a loser. He would become the laughing stock of all adepts!

 

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